‘Some people believe that football is matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude, it is much, much more important than that.’
Bill Shankly

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Serie
B or Second Division. It was the bastion of defensive football, which
dragged Italy down in the 1970s. Changes come slow in the second
tier, old ways persist – it was and is everywhere, not just in
Italy. The 20-team league produced mostly ties – not a single club
had less than 10. Only two clubs finished with more wins than ties.
Goal scoring was not the aim – only 6 clubs scored more than a goal
per game average. Not a single team achieved 2 goals per match,
though : the highest average belonged to Udinese – 52 goals in
38 games : 1.37 average... Two of the best scoring teams reached
only 39 goals. Defense was king and the strategy : tie the
match, get a point, and don't risk.

Bari
were the best at that – they managed to tie 23 of their
championship matches. This was good enough for 16th
place... that is, barely escaping relegation zone.

Right
after them were Taranto – 21 ties. Behind Bari only in terms of
ties – in the final table they were a place ahead of Bari :
15th,
but thanks only on better goal-difference. The third highest number
belonged to Ternana – 20 ties.

Ternana
finished with only one point more than Taranto and Bari, but a point
meant a lot in such league – Ternana finished 10th.
Not bad, when all is over and the danger of relegation is gone :
5 teams finished with 35 points and 3 with 36 – 8 clubs barely
survived, yet... the top among them was 9th,
respectable mid-table position. If there was a club able to achieve
the perfect dream – to tie every match played, such a team would
had been 9th
this year and two points ahead of half the league. But dreams are
not reality and 9th
was Sampdoria.

There
is strong impression nowadays that Sampdoria is traditionally big
Italian club, but it is false : Sampdoria were almost nobodies
back in the 1970s and earlier, often found in the second division.
The name rings a bell, but one pf their close companions do not :

Sambenedettese,
an obscure club on the same level with Sampdoria ? Actually, yes
– they were one of the almost constant members of second division.
Never strong, so they were not among the leaders, but never too weak
either. Mid-table club, like Sampdoria. 11th
this year, but behind Sampdoria only on goal-difference.

That
was pretty much the bulk occupying the mid-table : mostly clubs,
which were no stranger to first division, but either fading away and
slowly sinking (Spal, Taranto), or shaky and not ready for another
try to stay among the best (Cesena, Genoa, Brescia, Palermo).

Palermo
is always worth a glance, because of their rare colours – not many
clubs play in pin. Not many clubs play on clay too... But this is now
– back in the 1970s it was not unusual, although here Palermo is
not lining for championship match – most likely for a friendly,
visiting some tiny club. On grass – or partially grassed pitch –
they tied 19 games and finished 7th
with 41 points. So much for the bulk of the league, the typical
clubs.

The
last four were relegated – three outsiders and a team which came
relatively close to salvation. Two were more or less expected
outsiders, the other two were down on their luck.

Varese
were last with 24 points. Not a big clubs and familiar with dreaded
last place, but familiar with last place in first division. Now they
were last in Serie B and going to get acquinted with third division
football. A club in decline.

Rimini
finished 19th
with 24 points, like Varese, but better goal-difference. One of the
expected outsiders, so nothing strange they were relegated. Rimini
distinguished themselves with 2 seasonal records : the won the
least matches – measly 3 out of 38 total – and scored the least
goals in the league – 17. They also had vaguely familiar player :
Massimo Piloni was reserve goalkeeper of Juventus for 8 years in
which he played 12 matches, but was 3 times champion nevertheless. He
moved to Pescara in 1975 and played regularly for three years, then
joined Rimini. The beard he grew after leaving Juventus did not help
much... after traveling Europe, he was to get familiar with Italian
countryside in third division.

Nocerina
ended 18th
and nothing surprising for a club which highest dream was reaching
second division. No Italian champions like Piloni here, but the
modest club tried hard to stay in the league – they finished with
29 points – 5 more than Rimini and Varese. Yet, they were 4 points
behind the club immediately above them and did not have a chance
surviving.

17th
and also relegated were Foggia with 33 points.

All
is relative – Foggia is almost always an outsider when in Serie A,
but in second division they were ranked high and considered
candidates for promotion, not relegation. But since relegation is
something so painfully familiar to the club, the pattern continued in
a way. Weak they were this season – came close to safety, but only
that : two points short, and down they went.

The
top of the table somewhat mirrored the bottom – 4 clubs fought for
3 promotional spots. They were divided, just like the bottom four –
two teams finished with eagual points, far from better two. The best
team was without competition. Monza and Pescara finished with 48
points each, Pescara taking the third place on better
goal-difference. Since promotion was concerned, play-off was staged.

A
strong, even surprising, season for Monza, which was not usually a
candidate for promotion. 4th
place in the final table, but still having a chance to reach Serie A.
A| matter of one match... but they were 4th
and 4th
they stayed : they lost the play-off 0-2. Unlucky ? Or
tradition trumping novelty ?

Pescara
finished 3rd
in the season, and won the promotional play-off. May be the key was
their better atack -they scored more than Monza during the year. They
scored in the vital play-off too – the weaker Monza strikers did
not. Lucky Pescara, but what an irony : Massimo Piloni left the
club before the season and at the end his former teammates were going
to play in first division, and he – in third.

Cagliari,
down on their luck, finished second. At the start of the decade
Cagliari were champions. They had famous squad, studded with stars.
Riva was playing for them. But the squad aged, some players moved
elsewhere, Riva retired, money was short, perhaps the moment of
starting rebuilding was missed, and Cagliari slowly declined until
sinking to second division. Which was not a place for them – with
some difficulties and struggles, Cagliari managed to finish 2nd
, besting Pescara and Monza by a point. At least exile did not last
long...

Returning
to Serie A, but it was clearly weak team – only Longobucco rings a
bell, and he was neither young, nor a star. Cagliari escaped from
Serie B, but the future did not look bright.

The
champions were the only really raising club – or so it seemed.
Dominant and confident, the most attacking team in the league, having
also the best defense. 21 wins – the next best record was 16 –
and only 4 losses. 52:22 goal-difference. 6 points ahead of the 2nd
placed Cagliari – the winners appeared to be well-rounded team,
without weaknesses. It was not exactly a club with familiar name –
Udinese did not play much in first division, so their rise was very
optimistic news. Something new – and may be different. May be not
one-time wonder. And looking like a double of Juventus – the kit is
the same – was also a positive sign, if only on superstitious
level.

Promising
team, great season, but like every other second division team,
Udinese did not have famous players. Not even recognizable names...
whatever familiar names played in Serie B, they belonged to other
clubs – like the top scorer of the season Damiani, a former
Juventus striker, who now scored goals for Genoa. The strength of
Udunese apparently was their well-rounded squad, players comfortable
with each other, performing well as a whole. Was it enough for Serie
A ?

About Me

I am Vesselin Vesselinov, born in Bulgaria and living in Canada. Football is my hobby since childhood – not the most important part of my life, but lifelong addiction nevertheless. Playing, watching, talking and collecting football. Now I am sharing my addiction with you. Hope you enjoy it.